THE WHOLE NINE YEARS

PROMPT: Write a story entirely in dialogue (e.g. an argument or conversation that spirals out of control).

THE WHOLE NINE YEARS

“Hello?”

"Hi, is this Janice?"

"It is."

"You probably don't know who's calling."

"Well, according to my caller ID, it's Vera."

"How have you been, Janice? It's been a long time."

"Well now, let’s see. You and Doug showed up at Madeline's 5th birthday party, then fell off the face of the earth. She's fourteen now, so I'd say it's been nine years."

"I know. Things change. People change. You and I … our friendship was strained. We both knew that.”

“You went AWOL because our friendship was strained? You guys left town, Vera! Without a word. Your mother had to tell me!”

“We had our reasons.”

“So, are you still way out in hell’s half acre? I never took you for a country girl.”

“We’ve built a good life here. Doug took early retirement, and I keep busy fundraising for the Presbyterian Church, and other worthy causes.”

“No shit.”

“Doug needed to get out of the neighbourhood, Janice. He couldn’t take much more.”

“Couldn’t take much more of what?”

“The situation.”

“Listen, Vera, I’m not doing riddles today. Why are you calling … oh wait. Hold on a minute. Are you still sucking people into those stupid home parties? Make-up? Scented candles? Sex toys?”

“You’re not hearing me. The situation.”

“Or maybe you’re calling to pay me back that two hundred bucks. Or did that slip your mind over the years.”

“I owe you nothing. We’ve been all through this. We agreed. I was paying for our flights to New York, and you were paying the hotel, concert tickets and dinner.”

“But we grossly under-estimated the cost of the dinner!”

“That’s because of the two-hundred-dollar bottle of wine that YOU ordered, YOU guzzled, and YOU barfed up in the ladies room.”

"You need to move this along, Vera. I’m picking up Wayne at the factory at 4:00.”

"Janice.”

“What.”

"I know about Madeline.Doug told me everything."

"Okaaay."

“That’s it? That’s all you have to say?”

“Vera, I need to go.”

"He told me after Madeline’s birthday party that day. It had been eating him up. Destroying him. I don’t mind saying I was in shock, Janice. Still am.”

“Do you make a habit of calling random people, and making wild accusations over the phone?”

“Would you prefer I coming knocking on your door? Or put a letter through your mail slot? Troll you on social media?”

“It … it … it was nothing, Vera. I swear.It meant nothing to either of us. An accident. A stupid mistake that I’ve regretted for over fourteen years. But Madeline is here now, isn’t she? And Wayne’s been a loving and caring father.”

“But does he know? Has he ever wondered about her green eyes and chestnut hair? Did you ever have the guts to tell him that Doug is her biological father? Or was it just Doug and I who had to live with the truth all these years?”

“Stop it, Vera. Just stop.”

“Well?”

“I never told Wayne.”

“I can’t hear you.Speak up.”

“I SAID I never told Wayne.”

“Oh, I see. So, you had an affair with my husband, gave birth to his child, and went on with your happy life, with your husband none the wiser?”

“I will never tell him, Vera. I’ll deny everything to protect him and Madeline, and I’m sure as hell never going to put her through DNA testing. So, if you’ve called here to stir up shit, be prepared for a fight.”

“Wow. If that’s not the junkyard dog.”

“You have skeletons in your closet too.”

“And what’s that supposed to mean?”

“I still can’t believe some of the stuff Doug told me when we were … you know … pillow talking.

“You’re bluffing, and I’m onto you. I’ve always been onto you. You’re a master of deflection.”

“Don’t worry, old friend.I won’t repeat anything he told me, especially now that you’re in such high standing in the … what was it … the Presbyterian Church?”

“He didn’t tell you a damned thing. You’re trying to come between us again, but it won’t happen. We’ve worked too hard to repair our marriage.”

“That shoplifting charge. You must have been relieved when the jewellery store settled in court. Didn’t even make the headlines.”

“Be careful, Janice. This won’t end well for you.”

“This was never gonna end well for me, anyway you slice it. I knew this day was coming. I braced for it, Vera. But before you drop your bombshell, and tear my family apart, you need to know that you don’t hold all the cards. Doug told me about that other business too.”

“Can’t wait to hear this one.”

“The hit-and-run. You’re lucky that pedestrian was too drunk to read your license plate. I remember that story. The guy had multiple injuries. How do you live with yourself, Vera? Doug is just as guilty for stashing your car in the garage. He should have turned you in.”

“Listen, Janice. I don’t have time for any of this. Believe whatever you like. None of it’s true, and none of it matters.”

“Oh, I see. YOU don’t have time for this. Yet it was YOU who called me.”

“I was hoping maybe you had taken the high road and told Wayne and Madeline the truth.”

“Don’t you bloody well lecture me on high roads, Vera. I took the road that caused the least pain for my family. I carried the burden of secret, the shame, the guilt. I shed the tears - a river of them - and I kept smiling. For them.”

“Janice.”

“What! What the hell do you want?”

“Doug is dying.”

“Oh. Jeez. I wasn’t expecting that. I’m sorry. I mean, I really am.”

“He doesn’t know I’m calling.”

“Okay.”

“He needs Madeline’s help, Janice. In a desperate way. He’s had radiation, chemotherapy, immunotherapy, the whole gamut, but the damned cancer managed to keep one step ahead of him, every step of the way. He’s exhausted. I’m exhausted. We’re running out of options, and we’re running out of time.”

“Christ, Vera. What can Doug possibly need from our Madeline?”

“It’s a big ask.”

“Try me.”

“Bone marrow.”